South Africa is not a shithole country – Jessie Duarte

African National Congress (ANC) deputy secretary Jessie Duarte has responded to US President Donald Trump’s expletive about developing countries, calling it extremely offensive.

Trump questioned why the US would accept more immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador or countries in Africa, using the term ‘shithole countries’.

Duarte told reporters that developing countries do have difficulties, but that the US itself has millions of people out of work or without healthcare.

“Ours is not a shithole country, neither is Haiti or any other country in distress. It is extremely offensive for President Trump to make statements about other countries that are really not complimentary of the US’s position or policy positions of those countries.”

She says the governing party will not deign to make comments as derogatory as Trump’s.

However, Donald Trump took to Twitter to say while he did use tough language at a meeting on immigration, that specific language was not used.

The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made – a big setback for DACA!

Trump’s remarks, made in the White House, came as Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham briefed the president on a newly drafted immigration bill being touted by a bipartisan group of senators, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified.

Many Democrats and some Republican lawmakers slammed the president for his remarks.